Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Blech. I've been sick--or caring for my sick family--all week, and haven't been feeling very creative. This seems like as good a time as any to post my evolving Vietnamese Chicken Curry recipe.

Let me preface it by explaining that there's a great Vietnamese restaurant in Salt Lake called East West Connection; I used to eat there frequently when I used to live there. Their chicken curry is practically perfect in every way, and I've been trying to recreate it since I moved. If you live in Salt Lake, you should go get some right now and count your blessings. My next task will be to take on their lettuce wraps.

The receipe below is derived from The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam by Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman. A Vietnamese curry is different than a Thai or Indian curry: less spicy, sweeter, more lemongrass-y. Vietnamese cuisine traditionally emphasizes the use of fresh herbs and vegetables and the balancing of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter flavors.

This recipe makes 8-10 servings, assuming you eat it with rice (I recommend a fragrant rice like Basmati or Thai Jasmine).

Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Gà càri)

Ingredients:

1 stalk fresh lemon grass or 1 tbsp dried
4 tsp curry powder
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp sugar
4 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1-inch squares
7 tbsp Vegetable oil (or enough to coat the bottom of your pot)
1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch squares
2-3 white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch squares
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
2 c water or chicken broth
2-3 carrots, cut into 2-inch slices
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (Thai Kitchen brand is preservative-free)
Juice of one lime
Thai red curry paste, to taste
Handful of fresh basil, torn into small pieces (optional)
1 additional cup water or chicken broth

Directions:

If you are using fresh lemongrass, remove the outer leaves and upper two-thirds of the stalks, then chop the remainder very finely. If you don't want to bother with the chopping, bruise the lemongrass with the back of your knife, then cut several notches down the length of it. Toss the uncut lemongrass in with the onions, but remove it (along with the bay leaves) before serving. Lemongrass will never fully soften with cooking and must be cut very small to be edible. If you are using dried lemongrass, it should be soaked in warm water for 2 hours, then drained and chopped fine.

Combine the curry powder, black pepper, sugar, and salt with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least 1 hour.

Heat the remaining oil in a large pot and fry the potatoes over high heat until brown. (It is not necessary to completely cook potatoes at this point, only to brown them). When well browned, remove potatoes from the pan and set aside. Safety tip: remove pot from heat when adding or removing potatoes and be VERY careful. Hot oil causes nasty burns! Trust me!

Add the garlic to the same oil you used for the potatoes and fry it for a few seconds on high heat. Add the bay leaves, onion, and lemongrass. Stir briefly and add the marinated chicken, stirring long enough to sear the meat slightly. Add the 2 cups of water and carrots, then cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes; uncover and stir, then cook, covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove the cover and add the pre-fried potatoes, the coconut milk, and the milk. Also add the lime juice, red curry paste, and basil at this time. If you don't have Thai red curry paste on hand, use Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to acheive desired spicyness. Cover again and simmer another 15 minutes. Taste, add salt and pepper as necessary. Serve with rice.